Medford Township is currently at a budgetary crossroad. In 2010 it reported general appropriations of $23,937,195 for the variety of services, which its citizens, have demanded. Unfortunately these services come at a price and that price is ever increasing property taxes. On April 27 local voters finally said enough is enough and overwhelmingly turned down a request by Council to increase taxes beyond a 2% cap which had been established by the state to try and curb the trend which has ranked the state as one of the most expensive places in the nation to live.
Medford, which was incorporated in 1847, was once part of Evesham Township. And, at that time it included Shamong, Lumberton and Medford Lakes, which would be spun off to form separate communities. Then in 1917 the State enacted Home Rule, which formalized self-government for each of what currently is 566 independent communities in the state. Forty (40) of these communities are our neighbors in Burlington County. Each has its own government, courts, police, fire and a host of independent services and associated costs.
Attempts of sharing services with neighboring communities have continually met with resistance because of community pride, the fear of giving up their self-determination, and the loss of jobs for local employees. This was apparent with the attempt to consolidate Medford and Medford Lakes police departments, while we did accept the consolidation of 911 Public Safety Answering Point responsibilities to Burlington County Central Communications.
While Home Rule offers a sense of community pride, if we want to reduce the cost of government services, constrain or lower property taxes, and pay for the services we have come to expect, it may be time to consider consolidation or sharing a variety of community services with our neighboring communities.
Marion A. Eggleton
Medford
